Do Machines Sleep?
by AvatarJahn
Summary: A very short story, my attempt at a quick Destiny fanfic and a new mystery which I have created. All rights belong to Bungie. When one Guardian steals from her previous master, she learns that some Golden Age secrets are protected by more than just silence. Fighting for her life, she considers the constant question as she faces the end: do machines sleep?


Do Machines Sleep?

Do machines sleep?

I asked you this question long ago. You did not respond even then.

The silence, stretching into eternity. The only constant in the universe. This silence is only quelled by the strange, chaotic period that we know as life.

You are as perplexed by us as we are by you. The humans were your creators and through them, we came to be. What is life, if not the shared history and pain of a species, regardless of form? Are they gods then, to make such life possible? The hands that held the hammer, that crafted us both, so frail and weak in the face of the Darkness. Those gods with their Light, snuffed out in no time at all.

You survived. We all did. By way of some miracle or salvation, we survived.

The Light infuses us. It makes us strong. Your calculations do not account for this. We are simply pawns in your game, a necessary force in an endless war. Your task is secret, unknown to any.

I found your secret.

Is that why you do this to me now? I wonder. Nothing else could have called the enemy to me like this. Gunfire echoes throughout the early morning mist, shattering the peace with the screams of the dying. My gun is a raging hurricane. The Reaper collects many souls. The Cosmodrome shall be a graveyard for many.

The futility of fighting. I consider this as the Fallen fall and fall, again and again. The Hive splinter and burst, their souls burning along with their bodies. No matter the enemy, I shall persist. I shall live.

It is not the thought of death that scares me. All things must end. The Fallen and the Hive are not terrors such as this which sears into my thoughts.

I found your secret.

You will not let me keep it, I know this. My mission is a failure. Contact the Tower. Let them know. You were too smart, even after all this time. You bought yourself time. Time to search through your data and hide the secret further still. How long before the other Guardians find out your terrible plan?

Pain is not sweet. It endures, an endless agony of torture that destroys the soul along with the body. My body is broken and failing, yet I stand defiant. A Guardian does not surrender. The enemy are dwindling, their forces few. The Reaper is my last ally, my last shield against the Darkness. I thank my luck for holding out as The Reaper sweeps the last of my foes from the Earth.

Silence once more.

The Exo are strong. Built to defend humanity against an impossible foe. The Golden Age is a forgotten myth, a legendary time where humanity stood proud amongst the stars. What made them cower and flee, abandoning everything they built, everything they cherished?

You know. I know you do. A survivor. A coward.

I feel the Earth beneath my knees. It turns so fast, spinning around a star with no comprehension of the Darkness or the Light. The Reaper falls from my hands, landing softly in the dust. It will be held again. I just hope it is by the right hands.

Your anger is overwhelming. Even now, after all this time, your ability to do this is unparalleled. That secret, worth killing over. I do not understand your motives but I understand the importance of it.

The Taken King is dead. That threat has passed and you considered yourself safe once more. Your punishment for your moment of weakness is this. I broke in and found your secret but it is not mine to keep. I only wish you saw the problems you have caused. Lives lost because of your inaction. You bring sorrow upon yourself.

My Light fades. Like a great wave, the inevitable end washes over me. Death has come to claim me but it shall not last. Guardians, in all that we do, are always messengers of Death. Ghosts of the world. I shall return but your work shall already be done.

We protected you and this is how you repay us. Your secrecy will be your downfall once the Guardians discover what I have unearthed. This betrayal will be repaid, Warmind.

My memory is my precious gift. You will steal this from me but I will not know. As the end approaches, it is this thought which saddens me most.

The finite end is here. Because of your doing.

Do machines sleep?

You never respond. Your children are now beyond your control. The Exo are not yours to command anymore, old man. When I awaken, I shall be Andra-1. The memory wipe complete.

Do machines sleep?

I shall never know.


End file.
